I have a 2005 Volvo S60 with 90,000 mostly highway miles. Is it time to change the timing chain, or can it wait another 5,000 to 10,000 miles? And are there any sympstons I would get when it is time to do the work?
If your car has a TIMING CHAIN, it does not need replacing. More likely, it has a TIMING BELT, and that normally needs replacing at 60,000 miles or so or 7 years, whichever comes first. It does not matter whether you drive on the freeway or in town. You are about 30,000 miles overdue. Timing belts give no warning; they will expire and wreck your engine without any warning.
A few years ago I was called out of bed by a friend whose daughter was stranded with her compact pickup truck, and the engine “just quit”. This was not an interference engine, so the break did not wreck the engine. I suggested she call the AAA and have it towed to a nearby friend’s garage and leave a note with the appropriate instructions.
Newer Hondas recommend their belts replaced at close to 100,000 miles, but you don’t have a Honda. In other words, you are driving on borrowed time if you have a timing BELT.
Check your OWNER’S MANUAL; it will have all this info in it.
Your car has a timing belt not a timing chain. It’s recommended replacement interval is 105,000 miles. The engine is an interference design, if the belt breaks there will be catastrophic damage. There are no symptoms that let you know when a timing belt is about to go. I’m sure there timing belt replacement recommendations for the age as well as mileage. You are close on the mileage and likely close on the age as well.